Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal 1 Stone Road West Guelph, Ontario, N1G 4Y2 Tel: (519) 826-3433, Fax: (519) 826-4232 Email: AFRAAT@ontario.ca
Tribunal d’appel de l’agriculture, de l’alimentation et des affaires rurales 1 Stone Road West Guelph (Ontario) N1G 4Y2 Tél.: (519) 826-3433, Téléc.: (519) 826-4232 Courriel: AFRAAT@ontario.ca
AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS APPEAL TRIBUNAL
APPEAL:
Sunova Implement Ltd. v CLAAS of America Inc. (RE)
Sunova Implement Ltd. v CLAAS of America Inc. (RE) – Stay of Production 2024 ONAFRAAT 5
STATUTE:
HEARING:
In Writing
DATE OF DECISION:
March 1, 2024
001Sunova22
NEUTRAL CITATION:
2024 ONAFRAAT 5
IN THE MATTER OF THE Farm Implements Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.4
AND IN THE MATTER OF an application to the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal (“Tribunal”) by Sunova Implement Ltd., under Section 5 of the Farm Implements Act regarding a dispute with CLAAS of America Inc.
AND IN THE MATTER OF A Motion held in writing pursuant to Rule 30 of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure.
BETWEEN:
Sunova Implement Ltd.
Applicant
– and –
CLAAS of America Inc.
Respondent
Represented by Eric K. Gillespie and John May
Represented Steven Rosenhek and Montana Licari
HEARD: In writing
Before:
Glenn C. Walker, Chair
MOTION DECISION
The Applicant makes a motion to the Tribunal for an Order for a stay of production of Outstanding Documents by Sunova Implement Ltd. to CLASS of America Inc. set out in paragraph 2 of the Tribunal’s decision dated September 22, 2023, until leave to appeal is determined.
The Tribunal determined that it would hear the motion in writing and set a schedule for the exchange of documents in a Notice of Motion dated January 23, 2024.
The Tribunal has received and has considered the Motion Record of the Applicant, the Factum of the Respondent, and the Reply Submissions of the Applicant.
Before considering the merits of the motion, the Tribunal must first determine whether it has jurisdiction to grant the requested relief.
It is trite law that the Tribunal is a creature of statute and has no inherent powers. Any order it makes must be based on jurisdiction given it by statute or its Rules of Procedure.
There is nothing in the Farm Implements Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.4, which provides for an appeal to the Divisional Court on a question of law, granting the Tribunal jurisdiction to stay an order.
There is also nothing in the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure providing such jurisdiction.
Section 25 of the Statutory Powers Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.22 does provide an automatic stay where there is an appeal of a decision of a tribunal to a court or other appellate body, unless the Tribunal or other appellate body orders otherwise. However, that does not apply here as no appeal has been commenced.
The Applicant submits that as the Tribunal has no rule concerning the stay of a decision, it should rely upon Rule 1.07 of its Rules of Procedure which provides: “Where any matter of procedure is not provided for by these rules, the Rules of Civil Procedure may be followed where the Tribunal determines they are appropriate”.
The Tribunal would then be entitled to apply Rule 63.02(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure which states as follows:
63.02(1) An interlocutory or final order may be stayed on such terms as are just,
(a) by an order of the court whose decision is to be appealed;
(b) by an order of a judge of the court to which a motion for leave to appeal has been made or to which an appeal has been taken.
The Tribunal’s use of Rule 1.07 is discretionary. The Tribunal finds that it would not be appropriate to rely upon this rule in these circumstances where Rule 63.02(1)(b) provides adequate and more appropriate relief for the Applicant and where the Applicant must first obtain an extension from the Divisional Court before bringing its motion for leave to appeal.
The Tribunal finds that it has no jurisdiction to grant the stay requested and declines to rely upon Rule 1.07.
Order
- The motion for a stay of the production order is dismissed.